Risuko: A Kunoichi Tale (Seasons of the Sword) - Softcover

Kudler, David

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1938808347 ISBN 13: 9781938808340

Publisher: Stillpoint Digital Press, 2015

Synopsis

Samurai, assassins, warlords... and a girl who likes to climb

”Tight, exciting, and thoughtful!” -- Kirkus

Kano Murasaki, you may not realize it, but I have done you a great favor. I have it in my power to give you a gift that you don’t even realize you desire. Make yourself worth my trouble, and you will be glad of it. Disappoint me, and you will be very, very sorry.

- - - -

Though Japan has been devastated by a century of civil war, Risuko just wants to climb trees. Growing up far from the battlefields and court intrigues, the fatherless girl finds herself pulled into a plot that may reunite Japan -- or may destroy it. She is torn from her home and what is left of her family, but finds new friends at a school that may not be what it seems

Magical but historical, Risuko follows her along the first dangerous steps to discovering who she truly is.

Seasons of the Sword

Can one girl win a war?

Kano Murasaki, called Risuko (Squirrel), is a young fatherless girl, more comfortable climbing trees than down on the ground. Yet she finds herself enmeshed in a game where the board is the whole nation of Japan, where the pieces are armies, moved by scheming lords, and a single girl couldn’t possibly have the power to change the outcome.

Or could she?

Historical adventure fiction appropriate for young adult and middle-grade readers

About this title

About the Author

David Kudler is an author, editor, and publisher living just north of San Francisco, California with his wife, teacher/author Maura Vaughn, his author-to-be daughters, and their (apparently) non-literary cats. He is best known as the editor of Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces.

His children’s picture book The Seven Gods of Luck was adapted from a Japanese folktale. Two books that he edited for Joseph Campbell Foundation (Sake & Satori and Myths of Light) explore Japanese mythology and religion. He has written about places other than Japan — but his imagination keeps returning to the Land of the Rising Sun.

Risuko is his first novel.

Review

HISTORICAL/SUSPENSE THRILLER:  "Risuko: A Kunoichi Tale" is set in Japan in the sixteenth century with female warriors, one of whom is called Risuko. Along with two other apprentices, Emi and Toumi, Risuko arrives to their new home, which is filled with lots of secrets. Risuko is a nickname meaning squirrel - and she has an uncanny ability to climb just about anything!
Not a lot of authors write about Japan and Japanese culture, although it's very interesting. David Kudler does an admirable job of describing sixteenth-century Japan, with tons of details to make the setting come alive. The characters are easy to relate to, especially Risuko. The women were portrayed as strong and independent, especially unique if one thinks this was set in the sixteenth century. The story was filled with action, suspense, and a unique, well-crafted storyline. 
[...]
It is easy to invest in the characters, and once the reader starts this book, it's almost impossible to put it down. Risuko goes through a lot of character growth throughout the book. An entertaining story with excellent writing and haunting descriptions, a relatable heroine, and fast-paced writing.  -- Majanka Verstraete, InD'tale Magazine

In this YA historical novel set in Japan s Sengoku period, a girl who adores climbing attends an unusual school. Your mother sold you to me this morning. With this, young Kano Murasaki, called Risuko (Squirrel) for her love of climbing, learns she s to accompany imperious old Lady Chiyome s palanquin. Risuko s father was a samurai, a prestigious occupation in war-torn 16th-century Japan. After being disgraced, he had to find work as a scribe; he taught Risuko to read and write, but with him dead now, the family is near starving and Risuko s best option is to comply. The traveling party undergoes a cold and dangerous journey as it tries to dodge the fighting between rival warlords. Along the way, Risuko displays some of her abilities not just climbing, but calligraphy, bird calls, and presence of mind when attacked. When they finally reach the Mochizuki compound, Risuko becomes a novice, believing that she s being trained as a shrine attendant. There s talk of initiates becoming kunoichi, which no one will explain: you ll just have to find out on your own. At first, the novices perform only menial tasks, especially kitchen work, but they eventually receive lessons in music, singing, and dancing. But suspicion and intrigue (both political and romantic), plus attempted thievery and worse, tear apart the Mochizuki community, leading to a dramatic confrontation with the truth. Kudler (How Raven Brought Back the Light, 2014, etc.) draws on one of the most fascinating elements of Japan s feudal period the kunoichi, or female ninja. (Mochizuki Chiyome is a historical figure who trained young women as spies and assassins, using cover identities such as shrine attendants, servants, and prostitutes.) Also intriguing are the cultural details that Kudler weaves into his story, such as the Retreat, a small building where Mochizuki s women stay during their periods. The characters are nicely varied and all the pieces fit into place deftly, such as how Risuko s dance movements and kitchen skills can be used in fighting. A tight, exciting, and thoughtful first volume in what promises to be a fine series about a female ninja. --Kirkus Reviews

About this edition

• Publisher: Stillpoint Digital Press
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1938808347
• ISBN 13: 9781938808340
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 238